After Flux (The Flux Series Book 2)

by Marissa Farrar

Middleton’s ice blue eyes, so like Kit’s, narrowed. “This isn’t the time to talk about it, son.”

  “Don’t call me son. When, exactly, would be the time to talk about it? After you’ve collected your award? Or after you’ve sent more of your armed men to track down me and my friends, or perhaps even after you’ve kidnapped one of their family members?”

  For the first time, Middleton’s gaze moved to Hunter and me. His eyes widened a fraction. A sharp intake of breath. All he needed to let us know he’d recognized us, and let his security detail know he was in danger.

  Both security men moved quickly. They pulled their weapons, but they had no way of knowing they were dealing with more than other armed people. Hunter and I moved in unison, as though we had an unspoken plan between us, working as one. He focused on one gun, whipping it out of the man’s hands, while I took the other. This was no time for my usual paranoia, and I wished I’d practiced on the cameras when I’d had the chance. I locked my gaze on that gun and gave it everything I had. My only thought was sheer determination not to allow him to lift it high enough to aim a shot at any of us. Unlike the gun in Hunter’s focus, which clattered to the floor, the weapon of my attention trembled in the man’s grip. A mental arm wrestle, him fighting against the power of my mind. Did he know what was happening? Had these men been briefed on what we were able to do, or was he completely baffled about the reason he wasn’t able to point and shoot his weapon?

  Behind them, the elevator doors opened, and Dixie and Zane stepped out. Their arrival distracted me, and I lost focus on the gun. The security guy raised the barrel and a shot went off, ringing my ears. Hunter snapped his attention to the firearm and mentally snatched the gun from the man’s hand.

  The first guard went for the weapon he’d lost, but I focused on him this time, thrusting out my energy with such power I actually felt it hit him in the chest. He flew backward through the air as though a hundred powerful fists had just struck him, and landed on the hood of one of the cars. The car alarm sounded, the noise painfully loud as it echoed against the low ceiling.

  Shit. Someone was going to notice that.

  “Grab my father!” Kit yelled. “Get the keys for the car.”

  The second security guard went for his gun again, but Hunter focused on it, dragging the weapon across the concrete floor, toward him, until it stopped at his feet. He bent to pick it up, and I stared at the gun in his hands. I didn’t like it. Guns made me nervous, and that didn’t change just because it was Hunter holding one.

  A sudden screeching of tires came from behind me.

  Hunter spun around, but it was too late. A second car we hadn’t anticipated hit him, sending him flying backward. I let out a scream, my hand to my mouth. “Hunter!”

  He’d hit the windshield and bounced from it, and was now lying on the ground. I ran to him. Someone started to climb out of the second car, but a look from Kit sent the car spinning, forcing the person back inside. Hunter had dropped the gun he’d been holding, and the security guy went for it.

  Everything was happening in a blur, too many things going on at once, too much for me to focus on. More gunfire sounded, and I spun around. A second scream issued from my throat, tears welling in my eyes as I saw Kit on the ground, his hands clutched to his chest. Oh, no. Oh, please, God, no. Hunter also lay still, on his back, his arms splayed at unnatural angles. I couldn’t lose them. Either of them.

  Dixie! Zane! Both came running toward us, but at the same time so did Philip Middleton. My mind was scattered, filled with grief and terror and rage, and I didn’t even notice he had something in his hand before it was too late. A sharp pain pierced my thigh, and, in shock, I glanced down to see a syringe poking out from the side of my jeans, piercing the material.

  Middleton was right in my face. “Don’t try anything.”

  “Ari!” I heard Dixie’s scream, but it felt distant. Someone had hold of me, pulling me, dragging me toward the car that had hit Hunter. I wanted to fight back, wanted to use my mental abilities, but I didn’t seem to be able to grab onto anything tangible. All I could think about was Hunter’s motionless body and how Kit had been grabbing his chest, blood pouring from between his fingers.

  But Middleton had me now.

  The back door of the car opened, and I was shoved inside.

  Chapter Sixteen

  I landed on the back seat, my face and chest pressed against the leather, my knees folded under me, my butt in the air. The door I’d just been pushed through slammed shut behind me, and I was vaguely aware of the front passenger door opening and someone climbing in. I wanted to move, to jump up and scramble back out of the car and run to my friends, but I couldn’t get my legs and arms to work.

  My thigh ached where the needle had penetrated my skin, but all I could think about was Hunter hitting the front of the car and bouncing off—that same image playing over and over in my mind—and Kit clutching the bullet wound to his chest. If only it had been me they’d hit with the car or me they’d shot, then both of the guys would have come out of this unscathed. Had Middleton known exactly what he was doing? Had he known our weaknesses, or lack of them, and so attacked each of us in the correct way? If so, it meant he knew more about us than we did ourselves. Either that, or someone had told him.

  The smell of leather penetrated my nostrils as I lay with my face pressed against the back seat. No matter how desperately I tried, I couldn’t get my body to work. I’d never had the experience of being very drunk, but I imagined this must be what it felt like. Though my brain still worked, and I was awake, I was detached from my physical self. The engine hummed around me, and the car tipped me from side to side. Where was I being taken? Who was driving the car? I assumed we were no longer going to the award ceremony, unless he planned on taking a drugged woman in jeans as his date.

  Crazed laughter bubbled up inside of me, but it had no outlet. I couldn’t even get my lips to part to make the sound. The idea that my body would start to forget how to function, that my lungs would collapse or my heart stop beating, filled me with an adrenaline bursting surge of panic. I grappled with my common sense, trying to calm myself. They had taken me for a reason. What would be the point in giving me something and just letting me die on the back seat of the car? I thought about my poor dad, how he would need to be told I had been taken. It would break his heart if something happened to me. It was soul destroying enough to lose one daughter, never mind both of us. I wasn’t sure he would survive it.

  The car bumped and jolted along. I tried to pull my thoughts together. I couldn’t physically fight, so I needed to use my brain power if I was ever going to get out of this situation.

  Philip Middleton had drugged me with something, or perhaps poisoned me. I didn’t know which, but I knew it made it impossible to focus on anything inside of me, to try to push any of my powers outward and halt events in their tracks. With Hunter unconscious and Kit shot, I knew neither of them could help me, and Zane didn’t have any ability we were aware of. All Dixie could do was read minds.

  Though my thoughts were foggy, and I felt unsure of where I was or what I was doing, a spark of an idea lit within me. I might not be able to focus outward, but I was deep within myself, and I could use that.

  Dixie, I called mentally. Dixie, are you there?

  I listened hard, my mind flipping through all the different channels and frequencies that I somehow knew how to access. It felt like an old-fashioned radio tuning in.

  Ari? Oh, my God, Ari. Is that you?

  Her voice, in my head, but somehow not in my head. I couldn’t explain it.

  I wanted to sob, but I was physically incapable of such an act. I must look like a mannequin on the back seat, eyes open and staring, but unable to show any emotion.

  Yes, it’s me. Is Hunter okay? Is Kit?

  Yes, they’re okay. Don’t worry about them. Tell me where you are. What did he do to you?

  How are they okay? I saw what happened.

  Zane helped them.

&n
bsp; What?

  Stop worrying about them. Tell me where you are.

  I don’t know. I can’t move. I’m in the back of that car. He injected me with something, and now I can’t move.

  Shit. We’re coming to get you. As soon as you see something that might help, tell me.

  I wanted to cry again. I realized I probably was in my head, and that Dixie would be able to hear me. I pulled myself together again, so I could communicate with her, and also because, even though I was in a terrible situation, I didn’t want her to worry about me even more.

  I can’t see anything. My face is pressed against the back seat.

  Oh, God, her voice sounded in my head, but now it contained renewed fear. We have to get out of here. The police are coming. We can’t get caught.

  Fresh panic filled me. Hunter, Kit! How are they going to get away?

  I have to go now, Ari. I’m sorry. Tell me as soon as anything changes.

  Dixie, wait! I cried inside my head, but I could already feel the connection gone. It made me want to weep all over again. What did she mean when she said Hunter and Kit were okay? She’d said Zane had helped them, but how? Did he have some kind of medical training he’d never mentioned? Or had she only told me that to make me feel better, because she hadn’t wanted me to worry about anything else when I obviously had enough to worry about myself?

  I didn’t know what was going on yet. I needed to figure it out, but there was nothing I could do for the moment. I just had to wait things out. I literally had no choice.

  It felt as though I’d been on the back seat forever. My knees had slid out from under my body, so I’d involuntarily slid to one side, my bottom hanging off the gap between the end of the seat and the gap of the front seat. I hoped and prayed that whatever I’d been injected with would wear off enough to allow me some movement. All I wanted was to lift my head enough to see out of the window to give me some idea of what direction we were heading. I needed to see a signpost, or landmark I could tell Dixie about.

  I couldn’t physically move, but that didn’t stop me willing for the mental power I’d shied away from, anything to feel that flux of energy, to push it outward and affect what was going on around me. With it, I knew I could make the car stop, or hell, flip it over so Philip Middleton and whatever asshole he had with him ended up dead in the crash. I wasn’t wearing a seat belt, but I’d be okay. I’d survived a bombing and falling from a cliff face. I figured I’d survive a car accident.

  Only it wouldn’t be an accident, would it?

  Not that it mattered. He’d made sure I was unable to use my abilities. That told me something. Whatever they’d injected me with had already been tested, and if it has already been tested, it meant he’d had test subjects. Other Kin. Others who had gone missing before my arrival, or who had been picked up before they’d had the chance to meet Kit and the others.

  Where was I being taken?

  After what felt like hours, the vehicle finally pulled to a stop, jolting me forward so I almost toppled off the seat and onto the floor.

  Inwardly, I froze, anticipating what would happen next. But then I realized though I’d frozen inside, my finger had twitched. My breath caught. Was the injection starting to wear off? If so, did that mean my mental power would be back soon, too? I didn’t want to try anything too quickly and give myself away. I needed to bide my time to be strong enough to do something that would allow me to escape, but if I waited too long, Middleton might notice and give me another injection.

  The car door at my feet opened. The heat from outside hit me like a wall, stealing my breath. I hadn’t even realized the windows of the vehicle had been tinted until the sudden brightness of the evening sun poured through the open door. I squinted against it, my eyes streaming from the glare.

  Hands grabbed my ankles and pulled me out, so I was dragged along the car seat, my t-shirt rucking up beneath my breasts in a roll. The twitching feeling in my fingers spread to my arm, and my heart throbbed against my rib cage. The man—not Philip Middleton, but the driver, I assumed—bent and lifted me as easily as he would a child and slung me over his shoulder.

  Was I capable of doing anything yet? I had to try, didn’t I? I didn’t know where I was being taken, but if they locked me up somewhere and gave me another dose of whatever that stuff was, I’d lose my opportunity. I was capable of lifting my head now, not by much, but enough to try to catch a glimpse of my surroundings as I bounced and jolted on this strange man’s shoulder. He was big—well over six feet—and broad enough for my torso to hang over his single shoulder with ease. I guessed he’d been hired for his brawn rather than brain. I didn’t stand a chance of fighting him physically.

  From the heat burning down on my back, the red sandy dirt beneath foot, the rocks and stumpy succulent plants protruding from the ground, I had to assume I’d been brought out into the desert. I caught a glimpse of the building I was being carried toward. A rectangle of concrete and glass with a flat roof. Reflected light told me a platform of solar panels was positioned on the roof, powering the place. Though it looked as though it could house several hundred workers, I had to assume they weren’t here right now. No way would someone get away with carrying a semi-conscious young woman in this way without needing to answer some serious questions.

  Before I could risk doing anything, I needed to try to let Dixie know where I was. Not that I knew exactly, but perhaps Kit—assuming he was all right, as she’d said—might be able to recognize it.

  I brought myself inward again, focusing on the very center of my mind. Subconsciously, my eyes slipped shut, blocking out my surroundings, and I even became unaware of the big man whose body I was wedged again.

  Dixie? Dixie, are you there?

  I listened hard. Would our physical distance make the mental connection harder?

  Oh my God, Ari. We’ve been so worried. I couldn’t get any sense of you, and I thought... I thought...

  I could tell she didn’t even want to think the words.

  I’m okay. How’s Hunter and Kit?

  They’re both fine. Tell me where you are. We might not have long.

  In the desert somewhere. They’re taking me into this big building—all concrete and glass.

  Do you know where?

  No. How long has it been since I last contacted you?

  Three hours, at least.

  Then you know I’m three hours away from Los Angeles. There’s nothing else around. It’s completely remote. And hot.

  Okay, hold tight. We’ll put our heads together and try to figure out where you are.

  Thanks, Dixie.

  And be careful, okay? Don’t take any stupid risks.

  You be careful, too.

  No risks? Could I really take no risks? It would mean not trying anything now and being taken into that building without fighting back. I wasn’t sure I could do that, no matter what the consequences might be. Was I being brave or stupid for not sitting around and hoping help came to me?

  I brought myself back to the outside world. We were almost at the front door now, a white path winding its way between the boulders and succulents. Middleton had led the way, the man who had me following behind. I was far from being back to normal. I had slight feeling on one side of my body, and even that was only partial. I didn’t know what I could achieve, if anything, but I knew I had to try.

  Focusing on the closest boulder, I centered the energy that lived inside me and pushed it out. For the first time, I wasn’t terrified it would be too much and that I would end up destroying something I shouldn’t. This time, I gave it everything I had, transferring the energy inside me to the solid piece of rock. The rock began to vibrate; I saw it in the movement of sand on either side of the ground, trickling away. Then it happened all at once, the boulder moving, rolling over once and then skittering across the ground as though it had invisible wheels beneath it and someone had given it a shove.

  The man carrying me glanced over at the movement. He barely got a chance to get out o
f the way when it hit him in the legs, sending him flying. Unfortunately, that also meant I went flying, and with my body still not working right, I hit the sandy ground and tumbled.

  I heard groaning, but couldn’t be sure if it came from me or from the man whose legs I’d just taken out with a boulder. A shout of ‘what the hell!’ met my ears, which I knew had come from Middleton.

  I lifted my head and spotted the car. It looked both impossibly close and miles away. If my legs were working right, I could have dashed to it, but in my current condition, all I could do was half drag, half push myself with the side of my body that was working. I was sure they’d left the keys in the vehicle—it wasn’t as though there was anyone around to take it.

  Footsteps crunched on the ground. Middleton was coming for me. With my heart thundering, feeling like it was about to burst out of my rib cage, I fixed my attention on a second rock. I focused hard, pouring my energy into it, willing it to move. It shuddered and tipped, but Middleton was watching out for it. The boulder flew toward him, but he darted out of the way, and it missed its mark. I kept going for the car, dragging myself forward on the side that had more feeling than the other, using the goodish leg to push me forward. But I was slow going, frustratingly so, and I saw Middleton regain his composure and start for me again.

  “This isn’t going to work, Arianna!”

  I gave a moan of frustration and fear, and tried again, desperate to reach the car. I hadn’t given much thought what I’d do when I got there. Lock the doors and hope he didn’t have a spare key, or that he wouldn’t risk shooting through the glass. I just needed the feeling to come back to the rest of my body so I could drive it to freedom. I could hear the yells of the guy who’d been carrying me. I risked glancing over to see he was on the ground, the boulder still on top of him. Good. I hoped it had crushed his damned legs.

  Middleton was close now. “Just where do you think you’re going?”

  I thought that was pretty damn obvious, but I wasn’t about to stop and have a conversation with the guy.